Hillsong Pentecostal Church, Sydney

There was an article in the Sydney Telegraph today about the Penticostal Hillsong Church in Sydney. Brian Houston is the senior Pastor and from the stage, he told his huge audience last week "Don't give someone else the power over your financial freedom".


Brian Houston is Australia's richest cleric and presides over a $50 million global empire that the taxman can't get his hands on. They turn over $9 million dollars in tax free royalties a year. Members of the congregation are expected to tithe at least 10% of their income and the people in the audience were very generous when Brendan Hills, a journalist, sat in last week. A young woman sitting two seats up from him, dropped three $50 notes into the collection bucket and an Asian gentleman on the other side of her dropped in four $50 notes. One wonders how people can afford to give this sort of money away.

Then the Asian man passes the reporter the bucket - one of 100 doing the rounds for the collection - it has holes in the bottom large enough to discourage coins. When he didn't put anything in, people glanced at him, they noticed.


I went to a Hillsong service years ago when one of my daughters became friends with a girl at school who was a member. It was quite an experience, almost like a rock concert, so unlike the staid service conducted in my own Presbyterian church that I attended as a child. I can see why it's popular, no boring, hum drum drone of the preacher here, there are people smiling and singing and holding their hands up in the air with their eyes closed, praising Jesus. Pentecostalism is a belief that everyone can have a personal experience with God through the baptism in the Holy Spirit where one is 'born again'.

A lot of emphasis is placed on 'speaking in tongues'. Pentecost is a Greek word describing the descent of the Holy Spirit onto the followers of Jesus Christ as described in Chapter 2 of the Book of Acts where the people were overcome by the holy spirit and began speaking in strange languages (tongues). Traditionally, Pentecostals have taught that the "initial evidence" of Spirit baptism is speaking in tongues. So what happens when a new convert doesn't have the gift of tongues, is he/she less worthy than someone who has it? No problem, there are other gifts you may be granted - words of wisdom, words of knowledge, faith, healing, miracle-working and prophecy.

Brian Houston

There is also what they call a "message in tongues" for the congregation. For the church to understand the message in tongues, a person with the gift of interpretation - whether that be another person or the same one who gives the tongue - must interpret it into a language that all can understand. Pentecostals base their understanding of the gift of tongues on 1 Corinthians 14:13 and 14.27-28.

Prayer for the sick is an important practice in many Pentecostal churches. The Pastor will anoint the sick with olive oil and he/she, together with church elders, will lay hands on the person requesting prayer for healing.

It was an interesting experience but not for me. It's hard to explain but I think it was the 'speaking in tongues' that turned me off, I have a very suspicious nature and couldn't make any sense of it at all. But there are thousands of young people who not only attend regular services, but are involved with the church 24/7 - ex drug addicts and lost teens given hope and a new start in life. So as far as I'm concerned it's a good thing. So they make huge amounts of money and don't pay any tax, as long as they continue to reach out and change lives for the better, I don't care.